New Report Exposes Evacuation Crisis in Ukraine: Civilians Trapped by War, Politics, and Closed Humanitarian Corridors

Kharkiv, Ukraine — Today Human Rights First released a new report: “Desperate to Escape: The Fight to Save Civilians in Ukraine,” which reveals mounting challenges for civilians attempting to flee occupied or frontline areas in eastern Ukraine.

The report details how local human rights defenders (HRDs) are struggling to evacuate civilians due to:

• Loss of critical funding from Washington, halting key humanitarian operations.
• Ukrainian authorities’ pressing HRDs into military service, removing them from life-saving evacuation roles.
• The closure of all but one escape route, forcing civilians to undertake a dangerous, week-long journey east through Russia, north into Belarus, and finally south into unoccupied Ukraine.

“People are risking their lives to escape,” said Brian Dooley, author of the report and Senior Advisor at Human Rights First. “The international community needs to understand that this isn’t a theoretical crisis. Many HRDs feel abandoned by international donors, while frontline communities face the dual threat of daily shelling and the potential return of Russian troops. Many others are struggling to leave Russian-occupied territories. These are real people in real danger, and they’re being failed by political decisions in both Washington and Kyiv.”

As rumors circulate about a potential peace deal that would formalize Russian control of occupied territories, many civilians are increasingly desperate to escape, fearing a return to — or continuation of — occupation, surveillance, and violence.

Dooley has just returned from his 19th research mission to Ukraine’s eastern front since the full-scale invasion in 2022. He interviewed HRDs and civilians in frontline towns and formerly occupied areas.

Read the full report.

To speak with Dooley please contact [email protected].